The Beautiful Leukanida
About The Beautiful Leukanida
Two male beetles, dressed like knights and carrying swords, fight over a female beetle, Leukanida. The duel grows from a private quarrel into a war between the long-horned beetles and the stag beetles, and ends in an assault on a fortress.
Cast & crew
More about The Beautiful Leukanida
Władysław Starewicz wrote, directed, and photographed the short for Aleksandr Khanzhonkov. The Russian title is Prekrasnaya Lyukanida, ili Voyna usachey s rogachami. It was released on April 26, 1912.
Themes
Making
Starewicz posed beetle bodies in miniature armor and swords and shot them a frame at a time. The 2012 restoration premiered at the White Pillars archival festival, January 30 to February 3, 2012.
Look
Starewicz photographed the stop-motion himself, in black and white at about 1.33:1.
Technique
Insect bodies are moved between exposures so a duel can turn into a siege.
Preservation
Gosfilmofond restored the film in 2012. Nikolai Izvolov prepared that version, and it was shown at White Pillars that January.
Notes
- The full title translates as The Beautiful Leukanida, or the War of the Barbels and the Horned Ones.
- Viewers at the time took the beetles for live insects that had been trained.
- Starewicz is also the cinematographer.
- Gosfilmofond of Russia restored a version in 2012, prepared by Nikolai Izvolov, with Alexander Negreba reading a narration.
- That 2012 score uses Tchaikovsky's Sentimental Waltz. The original release was silent.
Scenes
- Two beetles in boots square off with swords.
- The fight widens into an attack on a fortress.
